A fool for Mark Dayton

In The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care), Rob Witwer and Adam Schrager report on the Democratic takeover of Colorado. One key to the takeover is the cash deployed by a handful of extraordinarily wealthy donors to fund left-wing front groups performing specialized dirty work.
The Colorado model has been franchised and extended to Minnesota as well as several other states. The election of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie in 2006 was one of the first successes of the Minnesota franchise. Ritchie was in place to serve his designated role in the post-election proceedings that led to the election of Al Franken as Minnesota’s Senator in 2008. The election of Al Franken was the Minnesota franchise’s second success. See, for example, Ed Lasky’s “The Soros connection in the Minnesota Senate race vote count.”
The Alliance for a Better Minnesota PAC is a key element of the Minnesota franchise. ABM is the PAC that did dirty work for Franken in 2006. ABM is also the PAC that spent more than $800,000 trashing Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer while Mark Dayton spent his own inherited money winning the Democratic gubernatorial nomination this year.
ABM has falsely defamed and successfully blackened Emmer in the advertising it underwrote while Dayton campaigned for the Democratic nomination. When Dayton won the nomination earlier this month, Republicans ran their first ad attacking Dayton. Dayton promptly called for a cessation of negative advertising. The unfolding scene reeks.
The Minnesota media, however, have shown little interest in exploring the stench. In today’s Star Tribune, Katherine Kersten performs the job with skill and concision.
The nonfeasance of the Minnesota media is notable. Mark Dayton is a profoundly flawed candidate. He is an alcoholic who, by his own account, has been through treatment twice, the second time only a few years ago. Dayton’s second round of treatment was occasioned by a relapse that occurred while he was serving in office as Senator. Dayton is also a man with chronic mental health issues that, also by his own account, require regular medication.
According to Dayton, his mental health issues relate to depression, but one would have to be a fool to take his word that depression is the only mental health issue Dayton struggles with. Do you suppose it would make sense to ask for a look at his medical records before he is elected to high office again, this time in an executive capacity? To put it charitably, the Minnesota media are Dayton’s fool.